Getting Started with Midjourney: First Prompts and Settings

If you've ever stared at a blank canvas wondering how to bring your wildest visual ideas to life, you're about to discover your new creative superpower. Midjourney transforms simple text descriptions into stunning, professional-quality images faster than you can say "Renaissance oil painting of a cat wearing armor."

Think of Midjourney as your personal AI artist who never sleeps, never gets moody, and somehow always knows exactly what you're envisioning—even when you're not entirely sure yourself. Whether you're designing marketing materials, creating concept art, or just exploring the fascinating world of AI-generated imagery, this guide will get you from complete beginner to confident creator.

Let's dive into the essentials of getting started with Midjourney, covering everything from your first prompts to the settings that'll make your images shine.

What Is Midjourney and Why Should You Care

Midjourney is an AI-powered image generator that uses something called a diffusion model—basically, it starts with digital noise and gradually sculpts it into coherent images based on your text prompts. According to research on AI image generation, this process involves encoding your text into numerical representations that the AI can understand, then iteratively refining random noise until it matches your description.

What makes Midjourney special isn't just its technical prowess—it's the artistic flair baked into every generation. While other AI tools might give you technically accurate but bland results, Midjourney has been trained to favor artistic composition, vibrant colors, and compelling visual storytelling.

Here's what you can realistically expect: high-quality images up to 1,792 x 1,024 pixels, multiple artistic styles from photorealistic to fantastical, and results that often exceed your initial expectations. The catch? You'll need to learn its language—the art of prompt crafting.

Setting Up Your Midjourney Workspace

Getting Discord Ready

Midjourney lives on Discord, which might feel weird if you're used to traditional design software. Think of Discord as a bustling creative café where the Midjourney bot is your personal waiter, ready to take your visual orders.

Here's your setup checklist:

Create a Discord Account: If you don't have one already, head to Discord and sign up. It's free and takes about two minutes.

Join the Midjourney Server: Visit the official Midjourney Discord server and click "Join Server." You'll land in a community of creators sharing their latest AI masterpieces.

Find the Newbie Channels: Look for channels labeled "#newbies" or similar. These are your practice spaces where you can experiment without cluttering the main feeds.

Consider Creating Your Own Server: For privacy and organization, many users create their own Discord server and invite the Midjourney bot. This gives you a clean workspace without the distraction of thousands of other users' creations.

Subscription Plans That Make Sense

Here's the reality check: Midjourney no longer offers a free trial, so you'll need to subscribe to start creating. But think of it as buying art supplies—except these supplies can create infinite masterpieces.

The plans break down like this:

• Basic Plan ($10/month): 3.3 hours of fast generation time, perfect for testing the waters
• Standard Plan ($30/month): 15 hours fast + unlimited relax mode, ideal for regular creators
• Pro Plan ($60/month): 30 hours fast + stealth mode for private generations
• Mega Plan ($120/month): 60 hours for high-volume users

Pro tip: Start with the Standard Plan. The unlimited relax mode means you can generate as many images as you want—they just take a bit longer to process.

Crafting Your First Prompts

The Anatomy of a Great Prompt

A Midjourney prompt is like giving directions to a talented but literal-minded artist. Be specific enough to get what you want, but leave room for creative interpretation.

Here's the basic structure:

Let's break this down with examples:

Simple but Effective:

More Detailed:

With Style References:

Your First Five Prompts to Try

Ready to get your hands dirty? Here are five beginner-friendly prompts that showcase Midjourney's range:

1. Landscape Practice: /imagine a misty mountain lake at sunrise, peaceful atmosphere, photorealistic

2. Character Design: /imagine a friendly robot gardener tending to flowers, cartoon style, bright colors

3. Abstract Art: /imagine flowing liquid gold and silver, abstract expressionism, dynamic movement

4. Architecture: /imagine a modern treehouse with glass walls, surrounded by forest, architectural photography

5. Still Life: /imagine vintage books and a steaming tea cup on a wooden desk, moody lighting, film photography

Each prompt will generate four variations. Don't worry if they're not perfect—that's what the learning process is all about.

Essential Settings and Commands

The Core Commands You Need

Once your images generate, you'll see buttons below them. Here's what they do:

U1, U2, U3, U4: Upscale the corresponding image (top-left is U1, top-right is U2, etc.) V1, V2, V3, V4: Create variations of the selected image 🔄: Rerun the entire prompt with new variations

Prompt Parameters That Change Everything

Midjourney responds to special parameters that fine-tune your results:

Aspect Ratios: Add --ar 16:9 for widescreen, --ar 1:1 for square, --ar 9:16 for portrait

Style Intensity: Use --stylize (or --s) to control artistic flair

• --s 0: More literal interpretation
• --s 100: Default artistic style
• --s 1000: Maximum artistic interpretation

Quality Settings: --q 1 for faster, lower quality; --q 2 for higher quality (costs more GPU time)

The Settings Command

Type /settings to open a menu where you can adjust default parameters. This saves you from typing the same parameters repeatedly. Key settings include:

• Version selection: Choose which Midjourney model to use
• Quality defaults: Set your preferred quality level
• Style defaults: Adjust default stylization

Common Beginner Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

The "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" Prompt

New users often cram every detail into their first prompt, creating something like:

The result? Usually a confusing mess. Instead, focus on 2-3 key elements:

Vague Descriptions That Go Nowhere

On the flip side, prompts like "cool picture" or "something awesome" give the AI nothing to work with. As prompt engineering guides explain, specificity is your friend.

Instead of: "a nice house" Try: "cozy cottage with ivy-covered walls, English countryside"

Ignoring Aspect Ratios

Many beginners forget that different projects need different dimensions. A social media post needs square images (--ar 1:1), while a website banner needs widescreen (--ar 16:9).

Not Experimenting with Variations

When you get an image you like, don't stop there. Use the V buttons to explore variations—you might discover something even better.

Advanced Techniques for Better Results

Using Image References

Upload an image to Discord, then copy its URL and add it to your prompt:

This technique helps maintain consistent styles or characters across multiple generations.

Negative Prompts

Tell Midjourney what you DON'T want by using --no:

Prompt Weights

Emphasize certain elements by using double colons and numbers:

This tells Midjourney to focus more on the library setting and less on the hat.

Real-World Applications and Success Stories

Print-on-Demand Entrepreneurs

Creative entrepreneurs are using Midjourney to design unique t-shirts, mugs, and posters. One user reported launching a successful product line by generating cohesive design sets with prompts like:

Game Developers and Filmmakers

Indie studios use Midjourney for rapid concept art generation. Instead of spending weeks on initial designs, they generate dozens of character and environment concepts in hours, then refine the best ones.

Marketing and Social Media

Businesses create eye-catching social media graphics by combining brand elements with AI generation:

Troubleshooting Common Issues

When Images Don't Match Your Vision

If your results are consistently off-target:

• Break complex ideas into simpler prompts
• Add style references (photography, painting, digital art)
• Use more specific descriptive words
• Try the /describe command on reference images to learn Midjourney's language

Managing Your GPU Hours

Running out of fast generation time? Here's how to optimize:

• Use lower quality settings (--q 0.5) for test runs
• Switch to relax mode for non-urgent generations
• Plan your prompts before generating to avoid waste

Dealing with Unwanted Elements

If Midjourney keeps adding elements you don't want:

• Use negative prompts (--no unwanted_element)
• Be more specific about what you DO want
• Try different phrasings of the same concept

What's Next in Your Midjourney Journey

You've got the basics down, but this is just the beginning. As you get comfortable with prompt crafting, consider exploring:

• Style consistency techniques for creating cohesive visual brands
• Character design workflows for storytelling projects
• Advanced parameter combinations for unique artistic effects
• Integration with other tools like Photoshop for post-processing

The Midjourney community is incredibly supportive, so don't hesitate to share your creations and ask for feedback. Every expert was once a beginner wondering why their first prompt generated a three-legged horse instead of a majestic stallion.

Remember, mastering Midjourney isn't about memorizing every parameter or technique—it's about developing an intuitive understanding of how to communicate your creative vision to an AI collaborator. With each prompt, you're not just generating an image; you're learning a new creative language that bridges human imagination and artificial intelligence.

Start with simple prompts, experiment fearlessly, and most importantly, have fun with it. Your AI art journey begins with a single /imagine command—what will you create first?